The cost of high-speed internet access has dropped, and the number of U.S. web consumers adopting broadband at home has increased as a result, writes MediaPost, citing the Pew Internet & American Life Project's "Home Broadband Adoption: 2006" report. Some 84 million Americans were connected via broadband in March - up 40 percent from 60 million one year ago. At the end of March 2006, 42 percent of Americans had high-speed at home, up from 30 percent in March 2005. In 2002, just 10 percent of Americans had broadband at home.

Adoption of high-speed internet at home grew twice as fast in the year prior to March 2006 than in the same time frame from 2004 to 2005, according to the Pew report. Middle-income Americans accounted for much of the increase, along with African Americans and new internet users coming online with broadband at home.

Between March 2005 and March 2006, broadband adoption grew 68 percent among households with incomes between $40,000 and $50,000. Among African-Americans, home broadband adoption grew 121 percent.

One reason for the broad-based surge is that DSL prices have decreased. In December 2005, users reported average DSL bills of $32 a month, compared with $38 a month in February 2004. Cable high-speed connections were reported at $41 for both periods.

High-speed adoption increased 70 percent among those with less than a high-school education; they now constitute 17 percent of broadband users. Broadband adoption by senior citizens grew 63 percent; as of March, they constitute13 percent of broadband users.